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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23389228">Find Me, Find You</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/LullyBunny/pseuds/Lully'>Lully (LullyBunny)</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Compilation of Final Fantasy VII, Kingdom Hearts</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Broken Families, Divorce, F/F, F/M, Family, Gen</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-03-30</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-03-30</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-01 15:42:03</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>825</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23389228</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/LullyBunny/pseuds/Lully</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>They say your childhood is the best time of your life. Vanitas knows better: childhood is what you spend the rest of your life trying to get over. His family is broken and divided among two new households; he is neither a part of them or apart from them. What is he to do with the memories he once cherished, now stricken with the melancholy of loss?</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Aerith Gainsborough &amp; Cloud Strife, Zack Fair/Aerith Gainsborough, Zack Fair/Tifa Lockhart</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>5</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Find Me, Find You</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>He was so tall he could blot out the sun. That’s what Vanitas had always thought, looking up at his father standing against the clear blue sky in the dry heat of summer. He was like an immovable force―strong and sturdy. Yet, warm; his blue eyes were like a hot spring and his laugh filled up a room. Vanitas found pride in the way his raven hair matched his father’s, the way their skin shared kisses from the sun. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m back to get you, Goblin!” he would declare, still standing in the threshold of the front door with arms spread wide to scoop him up in a flash every day he came home. Vanitas would let out high-pitched squeals, the sound of his tiny, naked feet pitter-pattering on the hardwood floor from the kitchen to the living room. He knew he didn’t stand a chance, but that might have been the best part. His dad grabbed him and tossed him over his shoulder like a rag-doll, tickling his sides until he couldn’t make a sound. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She smiled from the kitchen. “Zack, stop it! You’ll make him wet himself!” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Nuh-uh!” Vanitas would scoff back, face red and lungs tired. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Dad turned to Mom, stood over the kitchen sink with a knowing look on her face. “Eh, builds character!” he chuckled, dropping Vanitas back down onto the couch. “You didn’t give your mom trouble today, did you Vani?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He shook his head bodily. “Nope!” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Rather he nearly gave me a heart-attack this morning,” she added. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Zack’s gaze jumped back and forth between his son and his wife. “What do you mean?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She sighed, drying her hands on the towel on the stove handle. “He fell down the stairs and hit his head on the hallway table.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh, man!” Zack added a little extra exasperation just for Vanitas’ sake. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Take a look at the back of his head, right under his ear. He’s lucky he didn’t need stitches. Scared me half to death, I was sure we’d have to go to the hospital,” she continued to explain, lips turned down with worry. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Zack took Vanitas by the chin and tilted his head, examining the gash. It was certainly bad; the scab made his stomach churn a little. “Dang, little man. Did it hurt?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Vanitas looked offended. “No!” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Zack turned to his wife. She was nodding and mouthing </span>
  <em>
    <span>yes</span>
  </em>
  <span> with an exasperated smile. Zack laughed. “You got a pretty hard head, huh?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hard as a rock!” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>His parents both laughed and he wasn’t sure why, but he laughed along with them. It was the last time he heard them laugh together for a long, long time. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Cloud was living with them now. Mom only said they were friends for a while, but then one day her belly started getting bigger and rounder. It reminded him of Tifa’s. And then Aqua was born and they told him he was a big brother. Vanitas knew what it meant now that Cloud moved in.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He didn’t like it.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>His mom was so happy. She was always smiling at Cloud when he walked through the front door. It wasn’t like the way she smiled at his dad, though. There was something else there and it made him sick to his stomach. She called him Mr. Everything-Man and it made his skin crawl. He could hear them giggling in the living room together late at night when they thought he was already asleep and it made his blood boil. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>What he hated most of all, though, was when Cloud tried to talk to him. He hated him when he tried to play with him. He hated him when he bought him gifts. He hated his light hair and pale skin. Cloud was nothing like his dad. His dad was cool and filled up a room. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Sora was born only a week or so later. He cried a lot, especially in the middle of the night or early in the morning. He cried especially loud when Vanitas was watching his favorite cartoons on the living room television. Vanitas hated him too. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Dad and Tifa had another baby a few months later and named her Yuffie. Her hair was dark like Dad’s and he hated it. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>By the time Vanitas was four-years-old he had five new siblings; one brother and four sisters. And he hated every single one of them. He told himself every day how much he hated them. How much he hated Cloud and Miss Tifa, how much he hated Aqua and Sora and Yuffie and Naminé and Xion. He didn’t want them. They were ruining everything. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He was fifteen now, still brimming with anger. With fury. But it blazed in his hot yellow eyes, in his penetrating gaze and intimidating frown. Vanitas never anticipated Sora and Naminé’s affection―the way Sora turned into his shadow and Naminé slipped her crayon drawings under the crack of his bedroom door. They were ruining everything. </span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I haven't written a proper fanfiction in a very long time, let alone at all on ao3. One night a few months ago this concept came to me in the wee hours and it hasn't left me since. There will be more than just FFVII characters and more ships than just Zerith, Clerith, and Zifa, but I will add them once the story introduces them. If you have any interest, there will also be: RenoxFang, FangxVanille, NoctisxLuna, and perhaps some crushes among all the children. If anyone is curious about how the family dynamics will be set up (who will be the children of who) you can take a look at my art account on tumblr, there is a post floating around there with a nice list (lully-bunny.tumblr.com). </p>
<p>Thank you very much for taking the time to read this. It's much appreciated.</p></blockquote></div></div>
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